"Acquire new knowledge whilst thinking over the old, and you may become a teacher of others" – Confucius

Hi! I'm a senior at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI. I am a secondary education pre-service teacher and will graduate (in May 2009) with a degree in English and a minor in Psychology.

I have started my placement at a middle school in Lansing, MI. I'm in an eighth grade English classroom and am very excited to finally have some experience in a classroom environment. I have tutored several times before, but it was usually one on one. I am interested in seeing what taking on thirty students at a time feels like and working on my classroom management.

Although the placement will include a great deal of observation, there will also be time to practice teaching and working with students. My goals for the semester include:

1. Working and connecting with students .
2. Practicing my teaching persona and presence in the classroom.
3. Teaching a lesson and moderating a class discussion.

I know these goals are vague and may include many things, but I want to be open to whatever opportunities present themselves. I feel I'm going to learn a lot from this experience and hope to have time to work and grow in my placement. I originally wanted to work in a high school and was disappointed to get another middle school. I, however, think I could enjoy the middle school dynamic.

I think this placement will be interesting, exciting, and definitely eye-opening.